In the field of web development, you’ll find that you need a range of different languages. However, there are none as ubiquitous and universally used as JavaScript. Invented 20 years ago, JavaScript is now used in making 94% of websites. I use JavaScript daily at my my job as a web developer and couldn’t imagine working without it.
For web development, you’ll need at least a rudimentary understanding of JavaScript. Knowing more will get you farther, especially if you’re looking to focus on front-end web development. There are numerous JavaScript libraries and frameworks you should learn in addition to the language itself.
Read on to learn more about how much JavaScript you need for web development, including how it’s used on the job. This article will show you how to get started learning the language.
How Often Do You Need JavaScript in Web Development?
JavaScript is the primary language used by front-end web developers, used in conjunction with HTML and CSS. It’s what makes a web page interactive. HTML provides the structure, CSS provides the styling, and JavaScript informs how the page behaves and interacts with the user.
JavaScript can also be used as a back-end language, which means that you can use it to communicate from the server to databases and then back to the client. So, learning JavaScript enables you to create a full-stack application with just one object-oriented language.
Many web developers use their knowledge of JavaScript daily and use their knowledge of the language as a foundational starting point in their professional toolkit. However, it depends on what kind of web developer you are, as some use JavaScript much more frequently than others.
On average, game developers, email providers, and others offering a complex and dynamic user interface will use more JavaScript than developers creating simple web applications.
Altogether, 94% of all websites use JavaScript. It is the most popular programming language worldwide, used by at least 10 million developers.
Many developers use JavaScript in conjunction with at least one JavaScript library or framework, whether Angular.js, React.js, or Node.js.
How Much JavaScript You Need To Start as a Web Developer
To start working as a front-end web developer, you need to make fully functional web pages with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. JavaScript is not necessarily required for back-end developers, although learning to use JavaScript is a good idea for any developer.
If you already have some programming skills, you might be able to learn as much as you need to know in JavaScript within just a few weeks. Just make sure that you’re devoting 2-4 hours of every day to learning, or else the process will take even longer.
That said, the amount of JavaScript you’ll need for any given job will vary depending on the demands of the position. Some web pages have much more complex uses of JavaScript. Some use additional libraries and frameworks on top of the base language. You need to make sure to check with the hiring manager about the skills necessary for a particular job.
Ok, so it’s clear you need to know JavaScript to be a Web Developer. But how about very popular Photoshop? Is it possible to be a good web developer without it? Find out more in this article.
JavaScript Libraries
Many, but not all, employers will require knowledge of JavaScript libraries and frameworks beyond the base language. These include jQuery, React.js, and Parsley, among many others. These essentially extend the capabilities of JavaScript.
For example, you can use jQuery to make AJAX requests and traverse the dom, animating and manipulating elements dynamically. Its functions simplify what would otherwise be complex processes in vanilla JavaScript.
React.js uses JavaScript to create a virtual DOM, serving as a cache of data. This version of the web page sits in memory, and then as the page updates, it serves the unchanged part of the page from memory rather than reloading the entire document.
How To Teach Yourself JavaScript
There are many options for learning JavaScript, as it’s a widely used language with many resources available in print and online.
Just make sure that you understand any prerequisites before you get started and that you have a grasp on how difficult it will be and how much time you’ll have to devote to it.
Prerequisites for Learning JavaScript
Before learning JavaScript, it’s a good idea to understand the basics of HTML and how a web page is put together. JavaScript is what allows you to interact with the elements on the page, but HTML is what puts the elements into place, to begin with.
This is especially important to know if you’re planning to be a front-end developer.
How Hard Is It To Learn JavaScript?
Learning the basics of JavaScript is fairly easy, especially if you have experience working with coding languages. It is simple and intuitive yet powerful. If you were to put years into practicing JavaScript, you’d have mastery of the language enough to create complex web pages and applications, but you can learn to do enough for most jobs in a shorter amount of time.
Online Coding Challenges
There are numerous websites available for practicing JavaScript skills, each with its benefits and drawbacks. Two of the most popular are HackerRank and Codewars. These offer logical puzzles that you can solve using JavaScript to enhance your understanding of the language’s logic and syntax.
Scotch.io offers a more practical learning experience, teaching users how to create a full-stack chatting application using JavaScript, the JavaScript library Vue.js, and Laravel.
Learn To Code Books
If you prefer to learn by reading books, you can try Cracking the Coding Interview by Gayle Laakmann McDowell. This book is full of nearly 200 programming questions that you can tackle to develop your skills in JavaScript and other languages. This book is meant to mimic the kinds of questions you’d face in a technical interview.
Conclusion
For web development, you’ll need a good amount of JavaScript, especially if you’re looking to focus on front-end web development. It is extremely widely used and is a complex language that you can use to accomplish large and small goals. You’ll also do well to learn how to use the wide range of JavaScript frameworks and libraries that accompany the language.